LAST weekend was about much more than taking full points in the cup competition against teams from a lower league.

We’ve had a few heavy losses on the road and have a tough weekend coming up against Telford at home and Peterborough away, so it was a chance to gather ourselves.

Ice hockey is a physically demanding sport so I was pleased to be able to rest Muzzy Wales and Kurt Reynolds, players who have had serious injuries in the past.

I was also able to bring back Matt Selby, who had a long lay-off earlier in the season following an unfortunate injury in an away game at Bracknell.

He’s been anxious to get back on the ice and give himself the best chance to be ready to represent Great Britain next month.

Cameron Wynn and Declan Balmer will be on international duty with Matt, so last weekend was an ideal time to bring our new signing, Ricky Skene, into our defence.

He got valuable ice-time and experience playing with his new teammates. He will provide important cover for Matt and Declan.

But the weekend was an opportunity for me to watch from the bench how our younger players would perform, especially those playing in front of family and friends.

Dan Weller-Evans and Grant Rounding, of course, came to us with Joe Rand from the Isle of Wight team.

In Sunday’s game, all three former Raiders had big performances, leading us to a convincing win.

The game was played in a good spirit and, I think, enjoyed by all our fans.

Thanks, too, to Ryan Sutton, Alex Sampford and Hallam Wilson for performing so well in a Bison shirt last weekend.

All the best,

Doug